Life & Work with Nicholas Allman

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicholas Allman.

Hi Nicholas, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Being born in Kingston Jamaica, as a boy I remembered watching the guys on the street corner with these big drum pans made into grills. They had music playing while grilling chicken, laughing and having the best time enjoying what they do. I remembered moving into the parish of Manchester Jamaica, where my great grandfather owned acres of land with bananas, yams, ackee and many fruit trees. Along with the fruits we had chicken, cows, pigs and goats. I found joy watching my uncles and family friends utilize their resources to feed their family. I grew so much interest just by watching how they utilized everything around them. I moved to the US to Ossining, NY at the age of 10. Already fascinated with food I would get up early to prepare breakfast. I remember my mother would say that I could never go hungry because I was able to utilize any ingredient in the fridge to prepare something tasty my family would all enjoy.

While attending high school, in my sophomore year, I joined the culinary Art program I was certain of what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I never knew I would find so much joy in what I do, so I continued to push further. From there on I furthered my education in hospitality management, business marketing along with my culinary art degree. I didn’t want to just become a great chef, I wanted to be able know the business side of it and pivot when needed to. Years went by and my love for cooking got me positions I never dreamed of, such as Chevy Chase’s personal chef , Chef Manager at ESPN, which put me in the position to meet and prepare meals for celebrities, including Kevin Hart, Sinbad and many more. After missing the tropical weather in Jamaica I needed to be away from the cold and into a place that’s warm. During that time a friend of mine sent me an invitation to come to Florida to help with her business, that was enough confirmation to move. I worked with her for a few months while working a few odd jobs. I wanted to start a meal prep business at the times, because I wanted to control my time. I decided I wanted to have a restaurant space just In case I needed to make extra income.

At this time, Coronavirus started, and places started closing down and I felt as if my dream to own a business was crashing right in-front of me. I decided not to give up and searched for a restaurant spot, I found the perfect location. I honestly didn’t know how I was going to build and open this restaurant but I knew it was a chance I wanted to take because I believed in who I am. I knew that I had the traditional Caribbean dishes people would love, I knew it was a whole new flavor from what they were experiencing. I knew I wanted to have vegan dishes so a family can come and everyone can eat what they like. Opening a restaurant was more complicated than I thought. So many complications trying to open up but three months later say hello to Catered Delight Kitchen, a traditional Jamaican restaurant with fusion dishes. The next challenge was how do I get people through the door and stay open with limited resources. I knew I was in a detrimental time because no one was going out due to COVID. Because of limited resources, I started with smoothies, then I gradually added breakfast, lunch, and dinner. By this time I was still getting noticed but not enough to keep the lights on. I had employees but wasn’t even close to breaking even. At one point I was working by myself front of the house and back of the house because I couldn’t afford to keep employees.

I later on signed up to be a only food vender at a festival. I had one person to help me back of the house, and he called me the day before and told me he wasn’t going to make it. I received a Dm that very day from a young lady (Neko Roman) asking if I needed help at the event and she would be able to help without cost. I wasn’t sure of her experience but after some research, I found out she’s very experienced. I arrived at the event late because of a misunderstanding with my Uber. When I arrive Neko had everything organized and ready for me to cook. From that day forward she’s been helping me every step of the way. Neko is well known for her experience and is very good at networking. Time went by and as COVID got worse less people came out.

At that time Neko was also volunteering at Infinite Zion farm, as their kitchen manager. We decided to source fresh ingredients such as cabbage, kale, scallion to incorporate in our dishes. We pivoted to only doing meal preps, if people won’t come to us we will go to people. We closed down breakfast and lunch and only open for dinner. We needed to get out and do more networking. We started networking and doing farmers market with 4 rivers, then it was events with Rollins College, heart and soul event at the new Winter park library, black joy festival, Florida rising brunches, and now lunches for advent health. It’s been one joy ride. Although it’s been stressful at times I wouldn’t trade the journey for nothing.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has been a very rough ride but a smooth transition. Being a new business during COVID season, I dealt with people being afraid to dine at restaurants Finding employees.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a vegan taco award winner in CT, a celebrity chef, for Chevy Chase and more. I specialize in Caribbean dishes and vegan dishes, but able to create because of my professional background. I am most proud of the fact that I moved to Florida with no family member, and was able to build during COVID-19. What set me apart from others is that I’m a well-rounded chef. I love to create my own space, and not do what others are doing. I don’t just cook Caribbean food, but my experience allow me to cook other cultural dishes

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
Most people may not know that I opened a restaurant with little or no money and I worked odd jobs to buy all the equipment in the restaurant, painted and designed by myself.

Contact Info:

• Email: Catereddelight@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/catered_delight/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/ChefAllman/posts/?ref=page_internal
• Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/catered-delight-winter-park

Image Credits
Nicholas Allman